This invention relates to plucked string instruments such as a guitar or bass and more particularly to a pad supporting the mass of an electric guitar on the leg of a musician.
1. Field of the Invention
Electric guitars are frequently played while a musician is in a seated position, and the instrument is disposed in a generally edgewise position extending across a thigh of the musician. When sitting and playing for long periods of time the mass of the instrument, being disposed in a relatively small area on a musician's thigh, becomes unbearable or at least very uncomfortable. This invention alleviates this discomfort by providing a padded cushion which is interposed between the musical instrument and the upper surface of the musician's thigh.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,993 issued Sep. 14, 1976 to Proctor for SUPPORT CUSHION FOR PLUCKED STRING INSTRUMENT is believed to be the most pertinent patent relating to the invention.
This patent discloses a cushion having an oblique upper edge surface which is interposed between the under surface of a plucked string instrument, such as a guitar, and the thigh of the performer. The cushion yields to the configuration of the stringed instrument and the user's thigh in order to distribute the mass of the instrument on the user's leg. The cushion is disclosed as being attachable as by straps to the leg of the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,062 issued Oct. 30, 1990 to Driggers et al for GUITAR SUPPORT APPARATUS, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,492 issued Feb. 14, 1995 to Olson for L GUITAR SUPPORT are believed good examples of the further state-of-the-art. Each of these patents disclose a musician's thigh overlying base portion and an upstanding arm extending upward from one end of the base to the undersurface of the musical instrument. Both end portions of the musical instrument support are attached to the guitar by suction cups to distribute the mass thereof to an arc of the musician's leg.
This invention is believed distinctive over the above named and other patents by providing hingedly connected pads forming an L-shaped configuration when in use, having a foot portion provided with a concavo-convex rigid inner member which conforms to the user's thigh upper surface and distributes mass applied thereto by a stringed instrument with the other upstanding leg portion of the pad interposed between the bottom surface of the stringed instrument and the torso of the musician.